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Somerset look to shore up opening combination in push for maiden County Championship

Matt Roller19-Aug-2021Somerset have brought Azhar Ali back to the club in a bid to solve their top-order batting problems and spearhead a push to win their first-ever County Championship title.Somerset have averaged 18.46 for the first wicket in the Championship this season giving them the lowest average opening stand in the country, with Tom Banton and Tom Lammonby both short of runs at the top of the order. Tom Abell has been prolific at No. 3 and has returned to fitness following a hamstring injury but appears unlikely to shuffle up to open.They signed Devon Conway for two Championship games in July during his spell as the club’s second overseas player for the T20 Blast, but he has since returned to New Zealand after suffering a finger injury while playing for Southern Brave in the Hundred.As a result, they have brought Azhar back for a third spell at the club, following stints in 2018 and 2019. They expect him to be available for “at least three” of the final four rounds of Championship games following international duty in the Caribbean, and the Bob Willis Trophy final if Somerset finish in the top two.”I am very excited to be returning to Somerset – it has become like a second home for me,” Azhar said. Andy Hurry, the club’s director of cricket, described him as a “class act… [who] embodies everything that you want an overseas player to be.”Meanwhile, Gloucestershire have brought in Azhar’s Pakistan team-mate Zafar Gohar for their final four Championship fixtures. Gohar, the left-arm spinner, made his Test debut against New Zealand earlier this year and has experience playing in England for Moddershall and Oulton and Warwickshire’s second XI in 2019.Gloucestershire’s defeat in their final game in the first stage of the Championship means that they are in Division Two and playing only for prize money in September. “Gloucestershire are a fantastic club with a rich history, and I’m looking forward to hopefully playing my part in ensuring the season finishes on a high,” Gohar said.

Cricket PNG said in a press release that he had been recruited because of his extensive experience of local conditions

ESPNcricinfo staff20-May-2024Phil Simmons, who coached West Indies to the 2016 T20 World Cup title, has joined Papua New Guinea as a ‘specialist coach’ ahead of the 2024 edition of the tournament in June.Simmons’ second stint as West Indies coach ended soon after their group-stage elimination at the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia and he has worked extensively in franchise cricket since, coaching Trinbago Knight Riders, LA Knight Riders and Karachi Kings. He will support head coach Tatenda Taibu, the former Zimbabwe wicketkeeper, and Cricket PNG said in a press release that he had been recruited because of his extensive experience of local conditions.”My role here is as a consultant coach and [will be about] how I put across my experience, not just playing in World Cups but playing in the Caribbean and the things that we should be looking at to make sure we do it right in the Caribbean and especially the venues that we play at.Related

• Assad Vala to lead PNG in T20 World Cup, Charles Amini to be vice-captain

“As a player internationally, for fourteen years and then as an international coach for eighteen years, it’s been a long time in the game. It’s always brilliant to come home, always brilliant to come back to any part of the West Indies. You know how beautiful it is here. I’m looking forward to getting home, which is Trinidad.”PNG arrived in St Kitts at the end of last week after a four-day journey from Port Moresby. They are due to train and play various unofficial warm-up matches over the coming days before facing Oman and Namibia in official warm-up fixtures in Trinidad and Tobago next week.They have been drawn in Group C of the World Cup itself. They will face co-hosts West Indies in their opening match in Guyana on June 2, then play Uganda four days later at the same venue. They will then travel back to Trinidad to face Afghanistan on June 14 and New Zealand on June 17.Simmons said: “Their energy is unbelievable: their warm-up alone yesterday got me tired. The guys look like they have settled in really well… I’ve known the head coach for a long time and he’s always energetic. There is always a lot of energy, but the players seem to be pushing him where that is not so, and I like that atmosphere in the team.”Batter Assad Vala will lead PNG, who will be playing their second T20 World Cup, after a winless campaign in 2021.

Allrounder talks to ESPNcricinfo about her desires from the World Cup, not having her wife in the squad, and about the hosts’ campaign so far

Valkerie Baynes17-Feb-2023Marizanne Kapp has likened leaving Dane van Niekerk out of South Africa’s T20 World Cup side to ripping Meg Lanning out of the Australia team.As the hosts prepare for a must-win clash with the Australians at her home ground of St George’s Park on Saturday night, Kapp called on South Africa’s senior players to step up against the title favourites. But she believed the absence of van Niekerk – also her wife – left a hole in the team.”If you ask anyone, they’re going to lie if they say no,” Kapp told ESPNcricinfo. “It’s like taking a Meg Lanning out of the Australian team. She is definitely missed but I think the girls have been coping well and now it’s up to the seniors to put up their hands.”This past year has been extremely tough for Dane. She’s really been struggling, she’s been working hard and to miss out at the end there, by that close, it really hurts her. She took her time to try and get over it. It still hurts, I know when I speak to her it still hurts but I think she’s been coping well. It’s been helping that she’s been commentating so you kind of still feel like she’s involved in the World Cup. Luckily now with the WPL, she got to a gig there so I think for her confidence that would be good if she just gets on the park again.”It has been a turbulent time for Kapp after van Niekerk was left out of the World Cup squad for failing the 2km time trial element of the selection criteria while attempting a comeback from a broken ankle suffered more than a year ago. Kapp took leave from the team during their tri-series final against India to return home and rejoined the squad ahead of the World Cup, where van Niekerk is now working as a commentator.”It’s been difficult, I’m not going to lie,” Kapp said. “But I think it was for all the girls. You never want distractions in and around your team, especially heading into a big tournament like this. I was a bit annoyed with the whole situation and all of that just because I felt like it probably could have got dealt with a bit earlier and not in the middle of a series, that’s why I went home. But that’s the past now and we’re moving on. We’ve not been at our best but we’ve been sticking together as a team and I guess that’s sport and that’s life so you just have to carry on and we have a job to do.”‘We’re still not near playing our best cricket so hopefully we keep on improving’•ICC/Getty Images

On top of all that was the WPL auction. Kapp is heading to Delhi Capitals for 1.5 crore (USD 183,000 approx) and van Niekerk picked up by Royal Challengers Bangalore for her base price of 30 lakh (USD 37,000 approx). Then followed the announcement of retentions for the Women’s Hundred, where Oval Invincibles kept hold of Kapp but not van Niekerk, who has now registered for the draft.Moreover, Kapp has been battling illness which prevented her from training after Monday’s win until Friday. But she had a solid hit out in the nets and a bowl on the eve of the Saturday fixture. With her hometown of Gqeberha having never hosted a women’s international, Kapp said she was determined to play.”It’s going to be very special for me personally,” she said. “I’ve always nagged them that I want to at least play one game at home before I retire one day, so it’s a big day and hopefully there’s quite a few people coming out tomorrow so I’m really excited.”Tomorrow might be a bit of a struggle, but I’m hoping to go out there and play. The girls have been preparing really well. So we know what we have to do tomorrow. It’s a big game for us as a team and then for me personally. I wouldn’t want to miss tomorrow, that’s why I came out today to train and see how I feel, but definitely up for the challenge.”South Africa were on the back foot after losing the first game of the tournament against Sri Lanka, who now sit second behind Australia in group A with one more game, against New Zealand on Sunday, to play. South Africa face Bangladesh in the final match of the group stage, after which Sri Lanka, New Zealand and South Africa could potentially all be locked on four points behind Australia. New Zealand, who were thumped by Australia and South Africa, defeated Bangladesh on Friday to give themselves hope, although the margin of their first two defeats hit their net run rate significantly.”We were just so annoyed with ourselves,” Kapp said about losing the first game. “If I’m being honest, we were probably a bit laid back going into that Sri Lanka game, especially after winning that tri-series. You don’t go out there to not perform well, but I think it was just a bit of a wake-up call for us and we kind of rocked up to the World Cup a bit later and now we kind of have to pay for that. Luckily we brought it back in that second game. We’re still not near playing our best cricket so hopefully we keep on improving.”South Africa have never beaten Australia in a T20I and Lanning’s side are undefeated at this tournament. But Kapp dismissed that record, saying “tomorrow’s a new day”. The last time the sides met in the format was at the previous edition of this tournament, in their rain-affected semi-final which eventual champions Australia won by five runs.Shelley Nitschke, Australia’s head coach, said: “They have nothing to lose, so we expect them to throw everything at us and we need to make sure we’re ready. They’ve got some really damaging players, both with bat and ball, that can take a game away from us and they have the support of the home crowd, so we need to make sure we are on our game.”

The squad met just once before flying to the Caribbean but the captain feels it has been coming together nicely

Andrew McGlashan13-Jan-2022Australia’s Under-19 squad only came together shortly before flying to the Caribbean, and despite a heavy defeat in their warm-up match against India, the confidence of captain Cooper Connolly has not been dented.Connolly is embarking on his second Under-19 World Cup, having played as a 16-year-old in South Africa two years ago. Just weeks after that tournament finished, the pandemic swept the world and, from a cricket point of view, age-group competitions were severely hit – Australia have not had any Under-19 fixtures since then. Ongoing border restrictions meant plans to have the squad all in one place before the tournament did not happen either.Related

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However, that hasn’t stopped Connolly from trying to establish himself among the most highly regarded young players in the country; he has found a place in the Perth Scorchers squad too. And although Australia were heavily beaten by India, Connolly stood out with 117 off 125 balls.”Yesterday was a reality check for us against one of the stronger sides and maybe the favourite,” he said. “But I feel like we are in good shape for the first game.”Two years ago, he played twice and ended on a good note with 64 off 53 balls against West Indies, the hosts of the 2022 edition and Australia’s first opponents. Connolly is taking his experiences of that event, which was captained by Mackenzie Harvey, into this tournament and hoping to lead from the front.”From that one I can take [the lesson of] not stressing out too much about playing and just trying to be myself in the nets,” he said. “I was getting really stressed out and agitated but I feel from that World Cup, from Macca [Harvey], I can take his coolness and his ability to win games by his captaincy.”Back then I was a little, small 16-year-old that everyone didn’t really know, and since then [with] my mindset and power I feel like I’ve developed a lot over the last couple years working with Clint Heron my batting coach just to improve every area.”From the last World Cup [my aim] was to just make this, I just looked forward to the opportunity I might get to play in two, then to get the captaincy and that’s unbelievable. I’m so proud of myself, mum and dad back home are really proud, I’m just ready to go and lead my country.”Meeting your new team-mates just before you fly to a global tournament is a strange experience, but Connolly believes the squad has been coming together. “Obviously it’s pretty tough, we don’t know what each other is like, but feel like over the past week we’ve grown and go to know each other,” he said.Connolly picked out Australia’s strengths as their batting and spin bowling, the latter including ambidextrous Nivethan Radhakrishnan, but also backed the quicks to make early inroads.

He cracked 35 off 17 balls for Multan before wet weather had the final say 

The Report by Danyal Rasool06-Mar-2020
Multan Sultans put in arguably their worst batting performance of the tournament, but were bailed out by the Lahore weather. With Shan Masood’s side having limped to 102 for 6 in 16.5 overs, the heavens opened, with no further play possible. This had been a distinct possibility with rain having lashed the city for much of the past 24 hours, before the clouds cleared to allow the game to start on time.Karachi Kings started brightly, while Multan, playing their first game back in Lahore after three at home, found themselves under pressure from the outset. A disciplined start from Karachi produced dividends when Zeeshan Ashraf’s low-percentage swipe found a diving Chris Jordan at mid-on, before Moeen Ali, the only Multan player who looked in touch, top-edged Aamer Yamin to find Jordan prowling once more. What followed was nothing short of a collapse, with Rilee Rossouw edging Yamin to the keeper first ball, and Ravi Bopara lasted just two balls. Umer Khan removed Khushdil Shah for a tenuous 16-ball 8, and Multan were reeling at 64 for 6.It was a bitterly cold day for the crowd to endure, and they didn’t even get a completed game, but they may console themselves for one reason: they got to see Shahid Afridi in full flow with the bat once more. An exquisite, and effortless, flick off Mitchell McClenaghan flew over midwicket for six, before he repeated the dose the next ball to liven up a subdued crowd at Gaddafi Stadium. Next over, Umar Khan got the same treatment, and suddenly, Multan had brought up the 100, with Afridi having raced to 35 off 17.It was, as Afridi innings often are, ephemeral. Not, for a change, because of an ill-advised shot. Unseasonal rains were the culprit this time, and as they showed no signs of relenting, Karachi had to settle for a point Multan were only too glad to pocket.

Mahmudullah admitted the batsman lacked a clarity of plan to counter Neil Wagner’s “bouncer theory”

Mohammad Isam in Wellington12-Mar-2019Neil Wagner’s sustained short-ball attack has dominated Bangladesh over the first two Tests of the series, with the tactic fetching the New Zealand quick 15 out of his 16 wickets so far. Batsman after batsman fell to Wagner’s short-ball persistence: Mahmudullah and Mohammad Mithun were dismissed by the bowler three times, while Liton Das, Mominul Haque and Mehidy Hasan each fell twice. Wagner’s short ball also claimed the wickets of Shadman Islam and Tamim Iqbal.Mahmudullah said that many of the Bangladesh batsmen, including himself, were caught in two minds against Wagner’s lines of attack. Often, their proclivity for attacking to counter Wagner landed them in more trouble. Tamim, Mahmudullah and Soumya Sarkar played Wagner well but apart from Soumya, the other two failed in their attempts to pull off the short length on four occasions.Mahmudullah conceded that the batsmen need to carry much of the blame for the Wellington defeat, where they were effectively bowled out in 117 overs in a match that was already restricted to a maximum of 315 overs, after two days were lost to rain.”In the first innings, Tamim and Shadman gave us a good start and even after Wagner started with his bouncer theory, we were handling him well but then we gave it away,” Mahmudullah said. “We have to bat with more guts for longer periods. A number of our batsmen are playing half-hearted shots, or we are not committed. We are in two minds whether to play a shot or not. You need to back yourself. If you want to attack, you should know how you want to cope with their bouncer theory.”They will probably have a fast wicket in Christchurch, so our batsmen have to be more responsible, particularly with three new bowlers in the side. I think it is the batsmen who should take more of the blame. We were bowled out twice inside two-and-a-half days.”Mahmudullah said that Wagner had had to pitch the ball very short in Hamilton where Mahmudullah and Soumya Sarkar staged a fightback on the fourth day. But in Wellington where the pitch had more bounce on offer, he could pitch the bouncer slightly further up.”We knew about him from the last time we were here. Now we are talking a lot about the Wagner factor,” Mahmudullah said. “There was certainly help in the pitches for both sets of pace bowlers but we couldn’t utilise it as well as they did. I believe that our batsmen have the skill level to handle their short-ball tactics.”Wagner had to pitch it really short in Hamilton while here he got bounce from a length slightly further up. It was easier to play or leave in Hamilton. Here there was a bit more in the pitch. He made use of it. He was successful to his credit.”Mahmudullah also regretted the reprieves to Ross Taylow, after he Shadman put down chances off Abu Jayed’s bowling when the New Zealand batsman was on 20. Ross was on 20 at the time and he went on to score 200 in quick time to take the game away from Bangladesh.But Mahmudullah also urged the bowlers to find ways to control the flow of boundaries. This was the first time that Bangladesh conceded 400-plus runs in an innings at more than five an over.”If we had captured those chances, we could have given better momentum to the bowlers. It may have brought us few more wickets. They were playing with seven batters and with the kind of help that this pitch produced for the bowlers, it would have helped our guys.”Jayed, Mustafizur and Taijul bowled quite well but we ended up conceding five runs an over. We have to find ways to bowl better in the next match,” he said.

The team begins it’s World Cup campaign on January 13, with a game against Afghanistan

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Dec-2017Pakistan have selected a 15-member squad for the Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand which begins in January 2018. The squad, which also includes five reserve players, will be captained by Hasan Khan. A left-arm spin bowler, Hasan was one of Pakistan’s brightest young prospects in last year’s Pakistan Super League, playing for Quetta Gladiators.Before the World Cup, the team will play a three-match ODI series against Australia, with the games to be played on December 27, 29, and 31. After that, they will also play two ODIs against New Zealand in January – on the 3rd and 5th. The squad was selected by the PCB’s junior selection committee, headed by Basit Ali, and will depart for Australia on December 21. Their World Cup campaign begins on January 13 with a game against Afghanistan.Squad: Mohsin Khan, Imran Shah, Zaid Alam, Rohail Nazir (wk), Muhammad Taha, Emmad Alam, Ali Zaryab, Saad Khan, Hassan Khan (capt), Musa Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Munir Riaz, Arshad Iqbal, Muhammad Ali, Suleiman Shafqat
Reserve players: Muhammad Junaid, Haider Ali, Muhammad Ilyas, Azam Khan, Mukhtar Ahmed

Upon learning that it may take too long for the equipment to arrive in India, the BCCI has decided to go ahead with DRS without HotSpot against England

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Oct-2016Although the BCCI has agreed to use DRS for the five Tests against England starting on November 9, HotSpot will not be among the tools available.The last time India played in a series with DRS – also against England, in 2011 – they were not impressed with HotSpot. Ravi Shastri, who had been a commentator at the time, had famously said, “HotSpot has gone cold.” Its absence now, however, is the result of logistical issues.It is understood that about a month ago the BCCI had asked HotSpot proprietors if they could provide the equipment for HotSpot and Realtime Snicko. At the time, the board hadn’t made up its mind over the use of DRS, but was happy to include the technologies as a broadcast tool.However, the BCCI was told it would take at least until the middle of November to transport the hardware to India. And that was not a guarantee either. There was a worst-case scenario which suggested the BCCI would have to wait until mid-February to have HotSpot and Realtime Snicko in working order. This was because the cameras used for HotSpot are military-grade and their shipping required special permission from the Australian government.So considering the first Test against England is scheduled to begin on November 9, the BCCI has decided to use DRS minus HotSpot.The presence of UltraEdge, however, should help make sure DRS deliberations are as accurate as possible. The technology is used to determine exactly when and what part of the bat or batsman the ball has struck, and its use was a contributing factor in convincing the BCCI to use DRS. “UltraEdge also ensures that post-impact balls do not affect the predicted path or impact point and hence the accuracy has been improved,” the board had said last week.UltraEdge will now be used in detection of edges on caught-behind dismissals and bat-pad catches, and to determine whether a batsman had hit the ball in lbw scenarios.

Fifties from Mohammad Rizwan and Iftikhar Ahmed helped Peshawar Region cruise through to beat Karachi Region Blues by seven wickets and win the final of the Haier Mobile T20 Cup in Rawalpindi

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Sep-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball-detailsFile photo – Mohammad Rizwan struck eight fours and a six in his unbeaten 58•AFP

Half-centuries from Iftikhar Ahmed and Mohammad Rizwan helped Peshawar Region beat Karachi Region Blues by seven wickets and defend their T20 title in Rawalpindi. All of Peshawar’s seven wins in the tournament have come batting second, and this one meant Karachi crashed to their fifth loss in the finals of the T20 Cup.Chasing a challenging target of 177, Peshawar began strongly with opener Rafatullah Mohmand bashing 43 of the 48 runs for the opening wicket. Rafatullah and his partner Israrullah fell in a space of eight balls, but Iftikhar and Rizwan then took charge, adding an unbroken 110 off only 64 balls to ace the chase. Rizwan crunched 58 off 34 balls while Iftikhar hit 57 off 40 balls as Peshawar sealed the win with seven balls to spare.After having inserted Karachi, Peshwar struck in the first over with Imran Khan removing Shahzaib Hasan for a duck. Khalid Latif (23) and Khurram Manzoor (41), though, worked past the early blow and kept runs flowing. Imran Khan Jnr broke the 52-run partnership in his first over when he had Latif caught and bowled. Three overs later, Manzoor was run out. Imran Khan Jnr then broke Karachi further with the wickets of Asad Shafiq and Anwar Ali and finished as the tournament’s joint highest wicket-taker – 16 from seven matches at an average of 12.12.Sarfraz Ahmed, who had pushed himself down the order, provided some late impetus with an unbeaten 47 off 26 balls. He scored three consecutive boundaries in the penultimate over as Karachi tallied 29 runs in the last 12 balls. But it wasn’t enough.

Daniel Vettori is expected to make a return to competitive cricket after being named in the Northern Districts squad for the eighth round of the Ford Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Mar-2013Former New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori is set to make a return to competitive cricket after being named in the Northern Districts squad for the eighth round of the Ford Trophy. Vettori has been out of action since the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka last year, where he suffered a recurrence of a chronic Achilles tendon injury.The injury kept him out of New Zealand’s tours to Sri Lanka and South Africa, and the current home series against England.Northern Districts coach Grant Bradburn welcomed Vettori’s return to the side. “We’re delighted to welcome a player of Dan’s caliber and experience back into the side as we approach the Ford Trophy Preliminary Finals. It’s been a long road to recovery for Dan this summer and he’s relishing being fit again and ready to play.”Northern Districts take on Wellington on March 20 and have already qualified for the minor preliminary finals.